Overview of Ignition and Its Components
Ignition, developed by Inductive Automation, is a powerful industrial automation software platform designed to connect various industrial devices, collect data, and provide actionable insights. It offers a suite of tools that facilitate the development of custom HMI, SCADA, and MES applications, enabling users to monitor and control industrial processes with ease.
Key Components
Ignition Edge Panel
The Ignition Edge Panel is a lightweight version of Ignition designed for edge-of-network applications. It allows you to run HMIs directly on devices like the Raspberry Pi, providing local HMIs, data logging, and protocol conversion. In our project, the Ignition Edge Panel is used to display views and real-time data collected from the lathe, making it an integral part of the setup.
Ignition Designer
Ignition Designer is the primary development environment for creating projects in Ignition. It allows you to design views, create tags, configure alarms, and develop scripts, among other functionalities. It's recommended to use a powerful computer for this task, as the designer provides a comprehensive set of tools for developing complex industrial applications.
Connecting the Lathe to Ignition
Using Ignition, you can connect your lathe to the platform, read values in the form of tags, and design interactive views for monitoring and control. These views provide users with real-time insights and control capabilities. The Ignition Edge Panel running on a Raspberry Pi integrated into the lathe allows for local display and control, enhancing the user experience.
Installation
Ignition can be downloaded here.
Ignition Designer Launcher
The Ignition Designer Launcher is used to create projects and their views. It is recommended to install this on a proper computer due to its extensive development capabilities.
Ignition Edge Panel
The Ignition Edge Panel runs the views designed in the Ignition Designer. For this, you can use an edge device such as a Raspberry Pi, which can be directly integrated into the lathe. Detailed steps for setting this up will be provided in the following sections.
Ignition University
If you are new to Ignition, it is highly beneficial to watch the videos available on Ignition University. This online resource offers free training videos that cover various aspects of Ignition, from basic concepts to advanced features. These videos are an excellent way to get up to speed with Ignition and its capabilities.
You can access Ignition University here.
We would recommend watching videos in the following sections to begin with:
Getting Started:
Ignition Overview
Ignition Editions
Ignition Gateway Setup:
Ignition Gateway
OPC UA and Devices in Ignition
Launching Ignition:
Ignition Designer
Clients and Sessions
Tags:
Tags in Ignition
Visualization:
Perspective Pages, Views, and Containers
Perspective Components and Bindings
Platform:
Scripting in Ignition